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The suspect, Christopher Paul Neil, will be brought to Bangkok later today.

The arrest came a few days after the suspect's image was splashed across media reports around the world.

Interpol released images of the alleged child molester, which were taken from Internet pictures that had masked the suspect behind a digitally created swirl.

Interpol investigators were able to use new technology to alter the image to allegedly resemble the original images, which they then released to the international media.

Thai police issued an arrest warrant on him on Thursday for kidnapping, illegal detention, and of molesting a 13-year-old Thai boy, four years ago.

Interpol tracked him from South Korea where he was an ESL teacher in Kwangju Foreign School. It asked cooperation from Thai police after he arrived at Bangkok this month.

Western media reported that Neil worked as a chaplain from 1998 to 2000 at an air cadet summer training centre in Nova Scotia and that his duties included spiritually advising children ages 12 to 18. No complaints were brought to commanding officers about Neil at the time.

Police allege the suspect has been going around the world preying on young boys and taking pictures of his encounters.

They allege he would then post the images on the Internet after digitally altering his face. Police have about 200 photos of a man with a dozen boys posted on the Internet in 2004, but likely taken in 2002 and 2003.

Interpol believes the photos were taken in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Fellow ESL teachers told Associated Presse that Neil made frequent postings to a popular online forum called Dave's ESL Café under the pseudonym "Peter Jackson."

More than 300 postings under the name Peter Jackson were erased shortly before his disappearance, the Associated Press reported.

The Nation/Agencies